Javelin Airsoft Works M24

This review is for the Javelin Airsoft Works M24 Spring Powered Rifle. Pictures will follow tomorrow. This review is subject to change in the future.

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Initial reception:

Upon opening the box, you'll see that you've got a pretty loaded package. The gun comes packaged in two parts, the receiver/barrel/trigger group and the stock. Along with the gun itself comes a magazine, a speed loader (with removable adapter), a 2 point sling, unjamming rod, a bag of 100 bb's, and the allen wrench you'll need to assemble the gun. The stock itself is also cleverly designed with 2 forward sling mounts, so a sling can be used in conjunction with a bipod.

Mine didn't have a manual included. Regardless of that, assembly is about as simple as it gets. There's 2 holes in the stock that line up with 2 threaded anchor points in the receiver. Line them up, apply the included hex screws, and you're good to go.

Construction:

Overall, the M24 is pretty light. Most of the weight comes from the metal receiver/barrel group, which feels pretty solid after carefully tightening it to the stock. The receiver doesn't have any distinct manufacturing marks, but you can definitely make out the casting seam that runs along the stock. The finish on both the receiver and stock is very nice, and the texturing on the stock definitely helps provide a positive grip. The bolt cycles smoothly and has a deceptively easy pull. The safety is also a little different, and unlike 99% of other bolt action safeties, I don't feel like I'm gonna snap it off by accident. Instead of swinging on a single hinge and screw assembly, it slides along a guide built into the side of the trigger group. The trigger pull is smooth and light, but has a small amount of wobble. It also has a nice little bit of texturing which I thought was a nice touch.

During assembly, I noticed that unlike the CA M24, the JAW version incorporates an integrated magazine well in the receiver. This made fitting the magazine easier than CA's I've dealt with, especially considering the small and somewhat awkward shape of M24 magazines. I didn't have any on hand to test, but it looks like any M24 magazine will fit.

The biggest difference I noticed from the CA M24 is the location of the hopup adjustment. Like the TM VSR, it has an arm that covertly sticks up on the left side of the barrel, just above the chamber. This makes hop adjustment much more convenient, as you don't have to remove the magazine and pull the bolt back every time you need to make a small adjustment.

My only real complaint about the package as a whole is the sling. It feels a little meager. JAW was nice enough to include two removable rings on the sling mounts to accommodate different sling types, but they are noisy when they swing back and forth. A simple fix would be to just remove the rings and run string through the mounts, or just buy a sling designed for the mounts and forgo the included sling completely.

Shooting test:

Operation is pretty simple. The magazine is easily loaded by hand or with the included speed loader, and it clicks into place very positively thanks to the integrated magazine well. The bolt pull, as previously mentioned, is also deceptively easy considering the FPS. It's advertised to shoot 450 on the box, and my chrono read between 440 and 450. Most bolt actions don't shoot that hard out of the box, and the bolt pull is absolutely harder than the JAW. In a later examination, I'm going to see why this is, but for now I'm assuming some sort of superior Kung Fu.

The hop is easy to adjust, and gets definite results. With any FPS upgrades I would definitely go for a hop upgrade though. With .3's in the stock configuration, I had to just about max out the hop to make them fly straight. It seems to hold its setting pretty well, and it's certainly accurate for a stock gun.

Recommended upgrades:

Out of the box, this is a decent shooter. I would certainly recommend this for a newer player or even a vet who hasn't tried sniping, but doesn't want to make a big initial investment. Anyway, a tougher hopup bucking and a little custom shim work never hurt anyone, this gun is no exception. Pretty much every serious sniper out there makes custom compression and stability upgrades anyway, so that's not much of a fault on the gun's part. Later upgrades to FPS are a given, especially with a sniper rifle, but it's not totally necessary out of the box, unlike counterparts that barely shoot 300 stock.

All in all, the JAW M24 is a good deal for the money. It's got a few ingenious design differences from other bolt actions, and shoots very well right out of the box. As previously stated, a new player or a veteran can get good use out of it.